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Agriculture

Characteristics of climate change include weather extremes — very hot and very cold — as well as violent storms. We’ve seen it this year with one of the coldest winters in decades, record high summer temperatures, and more than our share of threatening storms.

One of the positive aspects of a cold winter was a bumper crop of lychee, a native to South China. Most of the older lychee varieties, including Kwai Mi, Hak Ip, and No Mai Tze require colder weather to flower than is normally found in Hawaii, while the newer ones such as Kaimana and Groff require less of a cold snap to trigger flowering.…

Molokai was once known as “Molokai `Aina Momona,” or the abundant land, providing plentiful food for a population many times its current size. While there are still many farmers and crops on Molokai, the economics of farming are making it challenging to provide for the community the way ancient Hawaiians once did. Thus, many island farmers have turned to exporting to make the numbers work.

A recent study by nonprofit Sust`ainable Molokai has found that the economy of scale – or the cost advantage of producing larger amounts – plays a key role in the success of local farmers.

“It’s all about quantity and the ability for farmers to make money,” said Harmonee Williams, Sust`ainable Molokai project manager.…

In Hawaii, 85 percent of calves are shipped to the mainland, said Pu`u O Hoku Ranch General Manager Jann Roney. They’re raised and butchered, and the finished product is not always sent back to the islands. However, like others around the state in recent years, Molokai ranches and businesses are working to keep the full cattle operation at home.

Molokai Ranch

Last August, Molokai Ranch launched its 100 percent grass-fed beef in an effort to establish its new pillars of animal husbandry and sustainability, said Operations Manager Dathan Bicoy.

Mid-summer is the leanest season for avocado in Hawaii, but the West Indies avocado fills the void and is there for the picking. The most heat-tolerant avocado, it’s the best adapted to the lowlands of Molokai, although it doesn’t do well along the shore where salty winds and soils can cause burning of roots and leaf edges.

The avocado is native to Mexico, where it’s been eaten before 10,000 BC. It spread throughout the Caribbean, Central and South American, evolving into three distinct races: the high-quality and cold-tolerant Mexican, the tropical forest Guatemalan, and the heat-tolerant, lowland West Indies.…

We are in the midst of the Dog Days of summer, which runs July 3 to Aug. 11 and named after the star Sirius or the Dog in the constellation Orion. This is traditionally the hottest weather of the year, and I can’t argue that. Plants can sense subtle changes in day length and temperature in our changing seasons as the days get shorter, and the nights get longer. Long-day plants, such as corn and soybeans bask in the long hot days of summer, while others such as lettuce and kale prefer cooler days and nights.…

The most damaging pest of fruits in Hawaii is the Oriental Fruit Fly, a small fly about 3/16 inch in length. It arrived in Hawaii around the mid-1940s, and is a major pest of over 230 kinds of fruits and vegetables. Native to Southern Asia, it’s also found on the islands of Sri Lanka and Taiwan. In the U.S., it’s only found in Hawaii but has been intercepted in California several times. Summer is their heyday when mango, papaya, and banana are in full production, and can be distinguished from another fruit fly, the Melon Fly, by its clear wings and a black T on its abdomen.…

A federal judge has ruled that a Maui County ban on the cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) crops is invalid. The order determined that the ordinance, initiated and passed by voters in November’s election, was preempted by federal and state law that allows cultivation of GE crops, and therefore the ban exceeds the county’s authority.

In the decision issued last Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Mollway made it clear that the decision was not a comment on the validity of concerns for or against the ban, but simply a legal response to the question of whether the ban was enforceable based on existing state and federal law.…

Celebrate Summer Gardening and Reading with Interval House Molokai! Join us on Saturday, June 27, on the public library grounds from 10 a.m. through 1 p.m., to launch into fun and enriching summer activities.

Our AmeriCorps members have grown hundreds of veggie plants to give away to our community to start home gardens. Stop by and select from an assortment of herbs and green bean, sweet pea, cherry tomato, and mustard cabbage plants. We will be distributing children’s gardening books that highlight where food comes from, the importance of eating fruits and vegetables, and how to start gardens in your own backyards. …

Youth showcased months of hard work at last weekend’s annual 4-H Expo, featuring showmanship and market competitions for hogs, steer and goats, small animal exhibits and a live auction.

Lindley Reyes. Photo by Catherine Cluett.

4-H stands for “head, heart, hands and health” and is a national educational organization. On Molokai, students ages five through high school seniors are involved in a livestock program that challenges them to learn responsibility through raising, showing and judging livestock, according to organizers.

Exhibitors in the hog showmanship competition guided their pigs in the ring so the judge could watch for good control over the animal, general health and ask students questions about their hogs.…

The Molokai Farm Food Safety Short-Course is being offered for farmers on Molokai who are interested in implementing Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) on their farms. This is the first step in starting your Farm Food Safety Plan. The first class, held in May was an overview of GAP. There is still time to get in on this great opportunity for our agriculture community.

The course will run through September with one class being held per month. Classes are held from 9 a.m. to noon and registration is required (space is limited). The next class will be held June 10 at the UH Maui College Farm and the topic will be Personal Hygiene — building your field hand washing station. …